People working in groups

[infryq]

Yesterday I looked at options for swapping in parts from a newer-model electronic sewing machine pedal to replace the rheostat in the White. Alas, the only ones available are three-prong, which means they would not be a direct replacement. They might still work if I can figure out what they actually do, but I’m starting to think my only cost-effective options are to build one myself or wait and see what the performance with the rheostat actually is before replacing it at all. I’m struggling to think of any other household appliances that have a variable speed and load profile even remotely similar to a sewing machine.

For work I spent about half the day on R prototypes and the other half getting familiar with our deployment system and the PHP for the forecast page. I implemented some cosmetic changes and fixed a bug in the error bars display. I also wrote up a sketch for how to organize the international data so it more or less fits in with the existing history display routines.

After work there was dinner, trash, crossword, DS9, and sleep. Dreamt of an Olin edition of Repair Shop, the best chocolate biscuits, a Gibson in need of TLC, and being late.

Personal update: having more trouble with basic self-care executive dysfunction than usual, like being alarmingly resistant to shift out of an uncomfortable position. Stress is stress.

Broader COVID-19 update: Pittsburgh sanitation workers are on strike (?) not for higher pay but just so they can be equipped with better (or any) PPE. This seems entirely reasonable to me and alarming that we weren’t already doing that. PA state senate passed a bunch of useful stuff just waiting for the governor’s signature, like postponing the primary to 2 June, absolving school districts of state testing requirements, and reducing the hoops required for unemployment. If you’re looking for media that’s informative but nevertheless uplifting, I recommend Ologies. The episodes Virology and All (Washed) Hands On Deck have been great.